Archive for December, 2006

Since it’s release several weeks ago, Jimmy Carter’s new book, “Palestine: Peace, Not Apartheid”, has received enormous publicity as well as a litany of reviews, both critical and praiseworthy. After reading this book, one can begin to understand why Jimmy Carter’s place in presidential history will be not be one of the “great peacemaker” in the Middle East, but rather of the president who holds the dubious distinction of bearing the most animus towards Israel and the Jewish people.

Once again, the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) is demanding respect for Islam — radical Islam, that is. Just what caused CAIR to roll out the charges of “Islamophobia” and, as usual, go off acting like a spoilt child?

Sen. Barbara Boxer, well known Democrat Senator representing California, recently rescinded an honor called a “certificate of accomplishment” awarded to Basim Elkarra, an officer in the local CAIR chapter. Among Boxer’s concerns? According to Boxer spokeswoman Natalie Ravitz, Boxer is concerned that CAIR “gives aid to international terrorist groups.”

We previously reported how the San Francisco Bay Area Indymedia collective (Indybay.org) routinely censors pro-Israel commentary while welcoming the most blatant pro-Palestinian material. Indybay’s exercise of editorial control makes it 100 percent responsible for the content of its forums–a principle we used during the latest election season to disgrace MoveOn.org and force it to take its Action Forum offline–and now Indybay is suffering the natural consequences of its actions.

Sounds like censorship to me, though I would not argue with the statement that Che was a “Marxist revolutionary [and] a murderer and totalitarian symbol.” This brings up an interesting question: What is an open and free society willing to tolerate as free expression?

Prime Minister Ehud Olmert met with PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas and agreed to release $100 million in tax revenue and ease travel restrictions for PA Arabs. PA terrorists promised to cease all rocket attacks launched from Gaza at Israel. (We know the value of their word.) Israel agreed to cease all military activity in Gaza. Permission was given to move the PLO’s Badr Brigade from its Jordanian base to the Gaza Strip. (More terrorists are allowed to step on Jewish land, but the release of IDF soldier Gilad Shalit has still not been resolved. No restrictions were placed on terrorist activity in Judea, Samaria and other areas of Israel . Why was this meeting conducted at the Olmert’s private home in Jerusalem, and not in the PM office? It was disgusting to see him bend forward and kiss our enemies, as though he were an inferior. Another useless and lethal game is being played with Jewish lives!)

Kirkuk is an essential part of Iraqi Kurdistan. While Kirkuk’s demography has been in flux in recent decades, this is largely a result of ethnic cleansing campaigns implemented by Saddam Hussein’s Baathist regime. Free from Baathist restrictions, many Kurdish refugees have returned to their homes in the city and its immediate environs. While many diplomats and analysts may be tempted to delay decisions about the final status of Kirkuk—whether it should remain as it is or join Iraq’s Kurdistan Region—any delay could be counterproductive to the goals of peace and stability.

Finally, justice will be had for Saddam Hussein’s atrocities. All his bluster aside, Saddam is a coward found hiding in a hole by American soldiers. For all those who suffered and died under Saddam — Israelis, Sunnis, Shiites, Kurds, Iranians — may they rest a little bit easier. From the AP:

Iraq’s highest appeals court on Tuesday upheld the death sentence for Saddam Hussein in his first trial and said it must be carried out within 30 days. The sentence “must be implemented within 30 days,” chief judge Aref Shahin. “From tomorrow, any day could be the day of implementation.”

These are the words of the very loony Iranian President Ahmadinejad, which was as the AP puts it, an “ambiguous statement” which “stirred fears about” Iran’s “nuclear ambitions.” As my dad, bless his soul, used to say: “He’s crazy like a fox.”

The question of Kirkuk’s final status remains among the touchiest issues concerning Iraq’s future. The Iraqi Kurdish political parties seek to include Kirkuk in a federal Kurdish state, an outcome at odds with Iraqi Turkoman sensitivities. The Turkomans consider Kirkuk to be their own ancestral capital and cultural center. Understanding the Turkoman claim to Kirkuk is essential to defuse a potentially explosive problem.

After defeating fascists and communists, can the West now defeat the Islamists?

On the face of it, its military preponderance makes victory seem inevitable. Even if Tehran acquires a nuclear weapon, Islamists have nothing like the military machine the Axis deployed in World War II, nor the Soviet Union during the cold war. What do the Islamists have to compare with the Wehrmacht or the Red Army? The SS or Spetznaz? The Gestapo or the KGB? Or, for that matter, to Auschwitz or the gulag?

Ethiopia has admitted openly to combating the forces of Islamo-fascism in Somalia. Good for Ethiopia. At least someone cares enough to oppose the spreading of the utterly intolerant, totalitarian virus which has now established a beach-head in the horn of Africa. Where has the West been regarding the Islamist takeover of Somalia — except for a few token diplomatic statements?

The U.S. nailed another Islamist scumbag today — this time in Afghanistan. This guy had a hand in destroying an ancient statue of the Prince of Peace, the Buddha. What would the terror apologists say about that? His death may set back Taliban plans for their usual spring rampage of terror. Good riddance. No negotiating with people who would slit our throats before we could utter a diplomatic word. From JournalTimes.com:

KABUL, Afghanistan – A U.S. airstrike near the Pakistan border killed the Taliban’s southern military commander, a U.S. military spokesman said Saturday, calling him the highest-ranking Taliban ever slain by American forces.

I generally give kudos to the BBC for providing comprehensive coverage of the genocidal campaign of the Muslim government in Sudan and its Arab militia proxies against the county’s Black African population… until recently. Some editor at the Beeb seems to have decided that articles regarding Darfur must contain a disclaimer as to who is at fault for the “conflict:”